I am always attempting to re-asses my role with my Sr. Pastor. If possible, I'm trying to "put a bug in your ear" for good discussion. What is the role of an Associate Pastor? I have been an Associate for about 4-5 years and am still attempting to define and refine the role of an Under-shepherd or Ass. Pastor. I think this is helpful for us to figure out while in this position because one day, we may have our own Ass. Pastor's working with us in the ministry.
1. What is your role to the Sr. Pastor?
2. What if there are theological disagreements affecting philosophy of ministry?
3. What if there is are complete theological agreement affecting differences in the philosophy of ministry?
4. How do you maximize your gifts and weaknesses under the leadership of the Sr.?
5. Having a class to teach, how do you preach expositionally through books of the bible where you come across a theological disagreement with the Pastor, or a controversial topic, though there is agreement with the Sr. Pastor?
6. How do you express loyalty to the Sr. Pastor, when there are people in your fold considering you as their pastor (as opposed to the Sr.)?
7. How do you approach the Sr. Pastor if there are problems with his Theology and/or Philosophy of Ministry (no sin issue).
8. How do you respond if the Sr. Pastor approaches you over problems of your theology and/or philosophy of ministry (no sin issue).
9. How do you use the Sr. Pastor to identify strengths and weakness in the Ass. Pastor?
10. How does the Ass. Pastor identify strengths and weakness in the Sr. Pastor?
11. How does the Ass. Pastor minister to the "whole" church when there is a small allotment of people assigned to his shepherding roles?
12. What should or should not the Ass. Pastor preach from the Pulpit when the Sr. Pastor is absent?
If we believe in a plurality of elders, and if you are an elder, then you are on equal footing in terms of authority in the church. With that said, we also acknowledge, as Strauch has explained, the concept of the "first among equals."
ReplyDeleteSomebody has to be the main guy right? If everybody is leading, nobody is leading. I like Piper’s title- “Pastor for Preaching & Vision.” Somebody has to be the main vision caster for the church body. This is where the “first among equals” comes in to play. Every other pastor should support that vision; be a champion of that vision.
Each elder will have a different area of oversight with the flock but all should be in agreement under the main teaching pastor.
I did not understand all of your questions so I only answered some.
1- I believe my role is to minister to all the people of the church, but especially the specific group allotted to my care, helping the Senior Pastor shepherd the whole congregation. He uses a shotgun to minister, spraying the whole body, I use a bow and arrow, specializing in select individuals.
6- encourage them to see you as simply one of many of their pastors. We don’t want people to have favorites but of course they will, for good and for bad.
7- humbly and gently approach the subject and ask for clarification on his philosophy. Ask him on what grounds he holds this. Make sure you understand him clearly. If there still is a difference, show him the difference that you have. Can’t it be said that one’s philosophy of ministry has a theological basis for it? Thus, follow the path to the theology and see if their philosophy agrees or disagrees with their theology.
8-receive the challenge humbly, change where you need to, stand firm where you need to.
11- It’s about mindset. He must see himself as a pastor of the whole local church collectively. He must specialize in one group, but he should not limit himself to one allotted group. He must go out of his way to speak to other members of the body on Sundays, have them over for lunch, get to know them, etc. Preaching in the main pulpit should also help shape the mindset.
The bottom line is- we serve under one who casts more direction to the church body, intentionally or unintentionally, through the Sunday morning pulpit, therefore, if you disagree with this pastor, you cannot minister effectively with this pastor in the long run.